A/N: Hello beloved readers! I know some of you will be confused when you start reading this, but maybe by the time you finish this chapter everything will be 'clear as mud' as some like to say. This chapter was written with the help of All Around Me by Flyleaf. Also I would like to take this time to inform you all about a Poll on my profile that I would like you to take a second to look at and vote on. I do not own Criminal Minds (though I would if I could, but I can't so I won't)
Enjoy.


Ch 3: All Around Me

*Dream*

A girl that looked to be about 24 years old was walking through a building with two others when she heard a voice that was so familiar but she couldn't place it.

"Morgan, have you three found anything yet?" asked the voice coming from the ear piece that was in the girl's ear.

"Negative Hotch. There's nothing in here." replied the man that was walking in front of her.

'Ok, so that must be Morgan, which means the guy in the ear piece is called Hotch, so who's the guy behind me and more importantly, who am I?' thought the girl sadly.

Just then a huge spider the size of a Chihuahua crawled across the girl's foot just as she looked down.

"Oh my God!" she yelled as she kicked the little monster off of her foot and jumped back which caused her to back into the guy behind her who put an arm around her to keep her steady.

Morgan looked back at them and all she could do was point at where it had landed and say "Please get rid of it!"

Morgan looked in the direction she was pointing and started to laugh. About that time Hotch asked "Is everything ok? I thought I heard Lauren scream."

"We're ok Hotch, but apparently someone is scared of little spiders." Morgan replied while still laughing.

"Little! That thing is the size of a Chihuahua!" the girl said, and she became aware of two things at once. The first thing was that they had called her Lauren.

'Does that mean that Lauren is my name?' the girl wondered.

The second thing she noticed was that the guy behind her was still holding her and he was also laughing his head off. She stepped away from him and turned around so she could finally get a good look at him. Just like with Hotch's voice and Morgan, this guy was also familiar. He was a good head taller than her with light, almost honey brown hair and the most beautiful dark brown eyes she had ever seen. The girl was almost sad that she had stepped away from him, but it was quickly replaced with a small amount of anger. She took a step closer to him as he stopped laughing and looked up at him with a small smile. At the sight of her looking at him like that the guy took a step back in fear.

'Good, he's been trained' the girl thought to herself with a small smirk.

"Are you through?" she asked as she took another small step closer.

"I'm sorry Lauren, please don't hit me!" the guy begged.

The girl brought her fist up and the guy in front of her flinched. She punched him twice in the arm.

"Two for flinching, smart-ass." she quickly explained.

"Why do you always hit me? Why not hit Morgan, he was laughing too?" the guy asked.

"Oh don't worry Morgan's next, and I always hit you because you do and say stupid things and you need to toughen up." the girl replied as she walked over to Morgan and punched him in the shoulder.

"Feel better now?" the girl asked.

"Why did you only hit him once?" the guy asked.

"Because he didn't flinch" she replied.

'I really should learn his name I can't just call him 'that tall, skinny guy with the cute eyes' all the time' the girl thought to herself as she looked at him.

Just then everything started getting fuzzy and the girl could hear a woman calling out to someone. The girl closed her eyes and wished the voice would go away. Unfortunately it didn't.

*End Dream*

When the girl opened her eyes she looked up at an older woman who was standing over her.

"Did you have to wake me up?" she asked in slight annoyance.

"I'm sorry Sarah, but it's time to open the shop. You were talking in your sleep again." the older woman told her.

"Did I say anything important?" Sarah asked with hope.

"I'm afraid not. All I could understand was something about a spider the size of a Chihuahua." replied the woman with a soft chuckle.

"I think that was a memory, but now I can't remember it. Well there is one thing. There was a guy there, and he had the most beautiful brown eyes. I remember hitting him for laughing at me and I remember feeling safe with him, but I don't have a name to go with him." Sarah told the older woman in sadness.

"Don't worry Sarah. I'm sure that you'll remember in time." The woman said as she tried to comfort the young woman.

"But I want to remember now. Clare, what if I never remember? It's been five years and I haven't gotten any of my memories back." said Sarah as she began to panic slightly.

"Sarah, you know can always stay with me if you don't get your memories back, and even if you do your still welcome here." Clare replied with a soft smile.

"Thank you Clare. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't of found me and taken me in. I owe you a lot." Sarah said as she got up from the bed and went over to her closet to get her work clothes.

Clare walked over to the door and opened it. Before she left she looked back and said "I only did what any decent person would in that situation. Like I've said before, you don't owe me anything and even if you did it has been repaid a thousand times. Now hurry and get ready. We have a long day today and everything needs to be fed, watered, and the cages need to be cleaned. Don't forget that Dr. Sung is coming by at three-thirty to check the new animals."

Sarah smiled at the way Clare had just gone from concerned friend to mother hen boss so quickly and replied "Sure thing boss."

Clare picked up a small pillow that was next to the door and threw it at Sarah, but before the girl could pick it up and throw it back she had left and closed the door behind her.

Sarah tossed the pillow onto her bed and went in to the bathroom. She took a quick shower and pulled on a pair of jeans and her work shirt. She walked back to her room and put on just a little eyeliner and foundation. She took another look at herself and added a bit more eyeliner to make her sea green eyes stand out. She then put her still wet shoulder length blond hair into a ponytail.

Once she was ready she went down stairs to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of orange juice and the bacon and egg sandwich that Clare had left for her. She went out the door and went to close and lock the door, but first she checked to make sure she had her keys. Still holding her sandwich, she put her bottle on the ground and searched her pockets for the keys. When she was sure that they were in her pocket she shut and locked the door, picked up her bottle and checked to make sure the door was secure one last time before she went to the street and looked both ways before crossing over to the pet store that Clare owned and operated.

When she entered the door she heard a raspy voice call out "You're late."

Sarah looked over at where the sound came from and saw the pet store's mascot.

"Good morning to you too Walden." Sarah said as she walked over to the front desk where an African Grey Parrot was perched.

"Is it mine?" Waldon asked as he looked at the sandwich in her hand.

"No Waldon, your breakfast is in your food dish. Ok? Go to your food dish." Sarah told the bird.

Waldon climbed down the small ladder that was leaning against the desk and got on the floor. Sarah couldn't help but laugh at the bird as he waddled over to the stand where his perch was and climbed up to his food dish. Sarah broke off a small bit of bread and egg and put it in the dish. Then she took his water dish outside and dumped the water that was left from the day before and opened her bottle of orange juice and poured a small amount in the water dish. She went to the back room and added some water so it wouldn't be so acidic and went and put it back on the stand. Waldon had eaten the food she gave him and began to drink the watered down orange juice. When he was done Sarah took both of the dishes to the back room and washed them out and refilled them. When she brought them back, Waldon nipped her finger in a sign of affection. Sarah scratched under his chin and turned to walk away.

Waldon let out a cry and said "Thank you sweetheart."

Sarah turned back around to face the bird which was now looking at her with his head tilted to the left as though he knew she was supposed to respond.

Sarah did the first thing that came to her mind. She said "You're welcome sweetness."

After that Waldon went about his normal business, and Sarah went to find Claire. She found her outside with one of the store's older Yorkie pups' that was going to his new home later that day.

"Clare? Who taught Waldon to say 'thank you sweetheart'?" Sarah asked.

"I didn't know he could say that." replied Clare as she picked up the little Yorkie.

"I didn't either until he said it to me." Sarah said.

She told Clare everything that happened and then waited for her opinion.

"Maybe he heard it from a customer." suggested Clare.

"Maybe. Well I should go get started on the cages. They're not going to clean themselves." With that said Sarah got up and went back inside.

'I know I've heard someone say that to me before but I just can't remember. Was it a boyfriend, or maybe a husband? Don't be stupid, I'm sure I wasn't married. If I were I would have been found by now. Who could have said that to me?'

Suddenly an image of a dark skinned man came to her mind.

'Is that who said it to me? Why? Who is he? Wait a minute. Isn't he one of the guys from my dreams? I think he is. He has to be! What was his name? I heard his name last night. I know I did, but what was it? Come on girl think. What did it start with? It was an 'M'. Was it Matt, Mark, Marten? No. It was Morgan I think. Yes! His name is Morgan! Unfortunately I don't know any guys called Morgan. Maybe I can find this Morgan person and ask him who I am. Maybe he has the keys to unlock my memories! Maybe clues to my past have been all around me this whole time.

Sarah was able to finish the rest of the day without any more strange things happening. Later that night she was once again haunted by dreams of her past.


I hope everyone didn't think that I would let Lauren die. I couldn't let Dr. Reid go through all that pain.
That character already has enough problems. In fact as I type this Revelations is coming on. Can you say 'ubber creepy'?

Anywho, Thanks for reading/reviewing. Feel free to inform me of any mistakes I may have missed and I am open to tips, hints, and suggestions on ways to make this story better.
P.S Don't forget to Vote. BTW The Poll is to see if anyone would read a Criminal Minds/X-Files crossover.
~Wolfie~